MOVIE! GERARD BUTLER!

insert random fan girl screaming here

I'm OK. Really.

I think.

Anyways, you came in here for the new chapter, so here it is in all it's angsty-fluffy glory. :)

Erik's palms were slick with sweat as he spurred the horse faster and faster, frightened and nervous that they were being followed. He'd used some of the herbs and solutions that he'd found at the gypsy camp, leaving them behind them every so often to throw off the scent. He tried to stick to riding over hard land and went through water whenever possible. Now he recalled why he had never run before.

There wasn't any clear place to run to, pursuit was almost certain and the punishment would be severe if they were caught.

Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and dug his heels into the horse's side. He wouldn't allow them to hurt him or Raoul, he wouldn't allow it!

Raoul kept clutching the older boy and together they rode through the night until the red of sunrise crept over the edge of the horizon. Erik took them deep into another forest, watching out for any signs of habitation. He leapt off the horse, setting Raoul down first carefully, noticing that the boy was half-asleep. He slipped off the bridle and wondered if it wasn't mostly unnecessary by now. The horse trusted him and he hated to use those things.

On the ground, the displaced aristo was yawning.

"Erik?" He mumbled. "Are we there yet?" He whimpered.

"No, not yet. Stay still, Raoul," he whispered urgently, "Stay still and be quiet."

Raoul obeyed and curled himself up into a ball, edging towards Erik as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. The shadows seemed to be closing in all around them and he desperately waited for the boy to finish securing the horse to the tree. As soon as Erik completed his task, he knelt next to the boy, tugging off his cloak and wrapping Raoul up in it. He noticed that the boy was crying and quickly lifted his thin, skeletal hand to wipe away the tears.

"What's the matter? Shhhhh, shhhhh, it's alright," he murmured, pressing Raoul's face against his chest, feeling the tears wet his shirt.

"There… out there… it's all dark…" the boy gasped. "What if there are monsters in the woods? What if they wanna eat me? I'm scared. Will you keep me safe? Will you keep the monsters away so they don't come and gobble me up?"

Monsters.

The boy was afraid of monsters. And he wanted Erik's protection.

Erik was fairly certain that, if compared maskless in the daylight versus every other creature in the woods, he couldn't imagine a sane child not fearing anything more than him. He was the most monstrous in appearance to other people. He had always been so sure of that. Always.

"Erik?" The boy insisted and drew him out of his thoughts.

"Of course Raoul. I'll protect you, forever and always, against anything that tries to harm you."

The child smiled up at him but was still shaking. Erik thought quickly and decided to distract him.

"Watch this!" He whispered to Raoul, then proceeded to draw a colored scarf from his mouth as the boy watched wide-eyed.

It was a simple enough trick, but Raoul was mesmerized and played with the scarf happily, forgetting his fears for a moment.

"Teach me to do that?" He begged as Erik took packs off of the horse.

"In time," Erik replied with a smile.

As the sun rose, Erik made a makeshift place for them to sleep amidst a tight cluster of trees that offered them shelter from the light as well as anything that would pass their way. He covered the ground with one of the blankets that had been attached to the horse, stretched the other from the ground to the side of a tree as a kind of temporary tent. He then scattered leaves over it to hide it better, until it was almost unnoticeable.

He then crawled into the structure where Raoul was already waiting. He slid next to the boy who immediately drew near to him, cuddling closely to him. He then looked up with the same expectant eyes he shown Erik the first night he'd spent in the coffin.

"Kissy?"

Erik pressed his lips against Raoul's forehead again but this time allowed them to linger for a second.

"OK?"

"OK!" Raoul said, kissing Erik back on the cheek.

"Then get to sleep," he instructed once more.

The boy was asleep within moments and so was Erik, exhausted by the day of hard riding and hoping that nobody would find them. They passed the night in one another's arms, a cherub watched over by a gargoyle.

Miles away, the Vicomte de Chagny was more furious than his manservant had ever seen him in his life.

"What do you mean, you don't have my brother?!!!" He thundered at the gypsy, who was acutely aware of the trouble he could cause with the law.

"I mean that when we went to go get him this morning, he was gone, him and the corpse both! They must have run off together – that wretched little skeleton must have kidnapped him or something," he said with a scowl, thinking of the money lost with Erik's departure.

"I don't give a damn about your sideshow freak, I want Raoul NOW!"

"We are doing our best to track them…"

"That's not good enough. I am calling the police," he said, at which the gypsy paled. "I want my brother found.

Or there WILL be hell to pay," he said with a glare at the dark-skinned man.

Phillipe stormed off into his private coach and ordered the driver to take him home. The day had only just started yet already it seemed interminably long.

He was going to need a drink.

It was late in the day when Raoul was nudged awake by Erik. The day was aging and it was already beginning to get dark, which meant that it was time for them to get started again. He handed the boy a piece of bread which the boy ate without complaint.

He watched his masked companion preparing the horse without comment and chewed slowly. The food wasn't what he was used to, the ground was cold and hard, he was far from the home he'd always know, his clothes were torn and he was filthy. Yet somehow he felt content. He'd been feeling something strange from the first moment he'd heard the other boy's Voice, the first time those melodic syllables had touched his ears.

Raoul didn't quite understand it and he didn't have the words to explain it, but Erik made him feel happy. He'd grown up in a world where most adults were too busy for him, where affection meant little and where most strangers either slapped him or petted him insincerely. The Voice though… it was soothing and strong, the voice of someone who was at the same time intelligent yet warm, capable and kind. When Erik held him he really felt safe and when Erik spoke, strange feelings swirled inside of him. His face was certainly unique, but not frightening in the same way that the leering, painted faces of women were or the red, bloated faces of the men who frequented his old home, talking in grating or high-pitched voices that smacked of artificiality.

Every touch Erik gave him, every kiss, every word made him feel… appreciated. Like the boy really wanted to be with him, instead of treating him like a burden. He didn't know how to say it or even sort it out clearly in his mind, but at a primal, indefinable level he reached for Erik, respected him and let himself be comforted by him. It was as natural as instinct, like a dog that recognized its master by his scent and touch and knew who was to be trusted intuitively.

The Voice commanded his heart. He would follow it anywhere and do whatever it asked. It filled his whole world with strange, wonderful sensations and he was utterly mesmerized.

"Come Raoul," Erik beckoned as the sun sank and the stars began to appear.

Raoul clambered up behind him and they started off once more.

Erik smiled at the boy for not complaining about the difficult day they had just spent. However, he knew that it couldn't be healthy for them to sleep like that every night. To be honest, it was a miracle that no animals or people had found them and that nothing had happened. It was cold, they were both sore and they needed proper rest and a good meal – especially Raoul. It was a risk, but he was going to have to find a place for them to sleep in the city.

They rode the night and part of the subsequent day. He forced himself to remain awake and alert but he could tell that Raoul was dropping off. He shifted he boy, seating him in front of him and held Raoul with one hand, controlling the horse with the other.

As the day went on, they came to a medium sized town, just large enough for someone like him to pass through unnoticed yet not large enough to present the dangers that a big city might bring; dangers such as recognition. He pulled his hat at such an angle to make his face obscured, quickly sold the bridle and found somewhat shabby lodgings whose main appeal lay in the fact that they were cheap and the keeper didn't ask too many questions.

He quietly put the horse securely in the stable, taking their effects with them, and slipped inside with Raoul's hand firmly in his, though the boy was stumbling from fatigue. The bouncing, jolting horse ride hadn't been conducive to a good sleep and both were quite tired. They entered the room in silence, locked the door securely and then flopped down on the bed. Raoul was practically asleep before he even hit the sheets; Erik however took a little more care.

Dipping in and out of shadows, going back and forth to a well outside, he managed to fill the tub and basin in the corner of the room. The water was tepid, but it was going to have to do. He hated to bother Raoul, who was already snoring, but knew that he would sleep more comfortably once he was clean and tucked in tightly. He roused him and coaxed him into the tub.

"Come on," he called softly.

"A bath?" Raoul frowned.

Like most boys his age, he had an instinctive aversion to things like the combination of soap and water.

"Yes, Raoul," Erik said with a smile. "You are quite smelly and I'm afraid I must insist."

"But… but…" He liked Erik, but even then he was hesitant; had it been Phillipe, he would have been kicking and screaming by now.

"Well then," Erik said with a sigh, "If you will not come I shall simply have to go over there and get you myself and dump you in."

Raoul clambered down from the bed, tossed aside his torn, stained garments and climbed in, shivering a little. Erik helped him to bathe as swiftly yet as thoroughly as possible, with a pleasant smelling soap he'd bought earlier when he'd sold the bridle. He washed the dirt off the boy's skin and the grease out of his hair, drying him off with a thin towel that had been left in the room by the pitcher and basin. Erik then took a quick bath himself, as Raoul pulled a clean white shift that Erik had brought over his head.

Once they were both in plain yet clean shirts, Erik tucked Raoul in then joined him once more.

Raoul stared up at the ceiling, his eyes wide, enjoying the clean and slightly fragrant scent left by the soap.

"Erik?" He asked.

"Yes?"

"Erik, I can't sleep. Sing me a lullaby."

A lullaby? Erik swallowed. He didn't even know if he could remember any, not as though his mother had taken the time to sing to him…

"I don't know any lullabies," he told the boy.

"Then sing what you sang the other day," Raoul suggested.

It wasn't a lullaby, the boy wanted. He just wanted to hear Erik's voice again, the lulling sound of the perfectly pitched notes.

So Erik sang for him, sang him songs he'd picked up from the gypsies, church songs learned from Fr. Mansart when he'd lived with his mother, folk songs he'd heard from the children who passed by the circus, any songs that came to mind. Raoul listened and listened to them until gradually his eyes started to shut and he drifted off once more. Erik smiled then kissed him goodnight.

He however did not get to sleep so easily. It was a while before he could calm himself enough to rest, as he worried about money and a place to stay. They couldn't stay around here, the gypsies and perhaps even that bothersome brother would be searching. Perhaps it would be best to go further south, maybe even into another country, where no one would recognize them and they could have some privacy.

The issue of his face still pressed, though. The boy was only four, which left it up to Erik to earn a living. He didn't want to beg and he didn't want to return to his former profession of traveling freak. But for a masked person, what else was there?

Who would trust him?

How would they survive?

And that's the end of that chapter. Until the next time.